MEDICAL devices company Magstim’s innovative products have made it a world leader in its niche market.

Today the Whitland-based company’s devices are sold in 61 countries across the globe and it has a turnover of £9m a year.

Its prospects for growth look strong, with managing director John Starzewski believing turnover has the potential to come in at between £50m to £100m in five years’ time.

Magstim’s success has been built on its innovative products, and it continues to work with researchers at the cutting edge of neuroscience at universities as far afield as Japan.

The business was established in 1990 as a buy-out of a subsidiary of a US company making blood gas monitoring equipment. But its success has been built on a scientific discovery, made at the University of Sheffield, that the brain could be stimulated using magnetic pulses.

Magstim has created a range of non-invasive products based on that technology that are used by hospitals and researchers worldwide.

It also offers a range of monitors sold under the name Neurosign, that help surgeons prevent nerve damage during operations.

With increasing developments in the field of neuroscience the company is looking to expand into other areas and stands on the brink of a significant increase in revenues.

Mr Starzewski joined the business at the end of 2004 when turnover stood at around £3.5m. Today it employs 67 and has recently won a prestigious Queen’s Award for Export. It exports 84% of its products overseas, with around 20% being sold in North America.

Mr Starzewski said that two major challenges face the company.

“The first aspect is making sure the product remains competitive with the necessary regulatory standards – that’s a bit like running up the down escalator,” he said.

“The second challenge is to understand and develop products for the future.”

Magstim has developed its impressive overseas sales by linking with specialist agents in markets as diverse as Brazil and Vietnam.

Ensuring the right regulatory approvals is vital in the medical devices field and the company’s strategy has stood it in good stead.

“If you want to have a sale in a hospital in Germany you have to go through a tendering process and that requires a good knowledge of how the system works,” said the managing director.

“We have elected to use a series of expert distributors. That is a very efficient way to get started, but once you get beyond a certain point the brand will develop its own expertise.

“We are in virtually every country in the world that has the technical infrastructure but there are certain ones we can’t trade with because of embargoes.

“The most challenging countries might well be those in Latin America, in that the burden of regulatory approval is becoming higher. Brazil like the US tends to be fairly protectionist and they are asking firms like us to comply with regulations we didn’t even know existed.”

With research leading to an increasing number of discoveries in the neuroscience sector, raising such possibilities as the use of magnetic pulses to help in the rehabilitation from strokes, there is much potential for the Carmarthenshire firm.

“It’s a very exciting time,” said Mr Starzewski. “We are involved in this small corner of neuroscience and we are looking to expand our business into other areas.

“My background comes from the clinical research area. I am interested in finding practical applications for this technology.”

He added: “Brain function as we get older changes. What will be increasingly important is to find ways of managing brain function as people age and after injury.

“The new frontier is man’s exploration of neuroscience and we are well placed to capture a corner of that and produce some of the technology that allows discovery to take place.”

What will help to ensure Magstim’s role in this growing area is the work that it does with people at the sharp end of research. In addition to its standard product range the company also makes bespoke machines to meet researchers’ demands, meaning that the technology is continually being pushed forward.

“We have a strong relationship with researchers and that leads us to make the things they want us to make. There are some people really at the cutting edge saying, ‘we’ve got your standard equipment, but want to do this in addition’,” said the managing director.

In addition to the demands from research groups the company also pushes its own product development in areas it believes may become increasingly important.

“We are taking existing technology into new applications,” said Mr Starzewski. “We are always keeping an eye open for emerging opportunities where our technology could apply.”

The managing director said that if they could identify one or two major new clinical applications for the technology it could double or treble the turnover of the business.

“There is no reason to expect this business should not be in £50m to £100m turnover in five years,” he said.